The End of the Year

Life is completely different from December 31st 2013. I work for a new company. I live in a new city. I left the church. 

Would I say life is better? Not yet. Does it have the potential to be better? Absolutely yes. 

Much as I suspected, moving to a new city has not magically solved my life problems. But if nothing else, I am proud of myself to making this change. I spent a good chunk of 2014 being ashamed of my life. My career was stalled. I was perpetually single. I still lived at home. It was embarassing. 

Things might not be perfect yet, but I am proud of my acomplishents and this step I have taken. I believe it is truly a step forward. 

I can't wait for summer here. Or at least for the days to be a little longer. Its hard to be motivated to explore my new city when it gets dark at 4:30 pm. But I know when summer comes there will be so many exciting things to do and it will be fantastic. 

2014 has been a stepping stone year. I'm ready to reap the benefits in 2015. 

Cheers.

The End of Vacation

Tonight is my last night in New York wtih my family. Chris is already gone, I leave tomorrow, Dain, Rachel and Caleb will leave the day after tomorrow. Its been really nice to all be together for the holiday. We didn't venture out of the house much and we've just been hanging around the house relaxing and eating and taking turns entertaining the baby. 

Even though we found ou he's been sporting a double ear infection, he's a very happy baby and we've all had a great time playing with him.

I'm definitely not ready to go back to work on Tuesday, but I guess it's at least a short week so I think I'll survive. 

All in all, a very merry Christmas! 

Christmas

This has been a pretty weird Christmas Day. Since half the family isn't in New York yet, we held off on most of the Van Epps Family Traditions. 

No presents. 

No Hot Wings. 

Those are really our only traditions, I suppose. 

However it was still a nice day. Mom and I baked cookies. Dad and I cooked a turkey. We watched A Christmas Story and played euchre. It's hard to complain about a day with family. 

One Year Later

A year ago I walked away from the most important thing in my life. It was a long time coming and it was time for me to quit. 

My mom always told me when I was a kid that no one is irreplaceable. And she was right. They have gone on without me and that is good. 

But I would be lying if I said I didn't miss it today. 

T-Minus: 1 Week

Its been a crazy few weeks, but in the end, I have a new job and I'm picking up my life in Southwest Michigan and headed across the lake to Chicago to start what I'm calling the Fourth Chapter of my life. I'm a small town gal and I have a billion things to learn about living in a city (my car! I'm scared for it), but I am extremely excited to start the next chapter in my life.

Tomorrow is my last day at my job here in Michigan. I've been here almost 8 years and its surreal that I'm leaving. My co-workers aren't the kind to make a fuss about someone moving on so I will likely slip out without too much fanfare, and honestly that's fine.

All I know is my dad is coming a week from today to help me load up my U-Haul and hit the road. My main concerns are 1) packing all my crap and 2) seeing the important people before I go. Since I only have a week left and I have to make two trips back into Chicago in that time, my days are pretty full. Part of the appeal of living in Chicago, however, is having people visit. Its incredibly hard to get people to visit you in Benton Harbor for some reason...

I plan to chronicle my transition and any City Adventures I go on here. I know this post isn't much, but that's because everything is just about to start. Stay tuned!